5 Things Salespeople Do That Annoy Prospects (and How to Avoid Them)

The average sales cycle involves 8 touches from first contact to close. That‘s 8 distinct opportunities to either build a relationship or erode trust with a potential customer.

Of course, sales is inherently a bit of a disruption. You‘re asking a stranger to take time out of their day, learn about a new solution, and part with their company‘s hard-earned budget. Deals rarely unfold in a perfectly frictionless, linear fashion.

But the best reps know that success comes from making the buying process as easy and enjoyable as possible. People want to work with people they genuinely connect with. Even small annoyances can be the difference between winning a new customer and losing out to the competition.

If your win rates are lagging behind, you might be guilty of some of these common prospect pet peeves. Here are the top 5 things salespeople do that annoy buyers – and what to do instead.

1. Not acting like a real person

It‘s tempting to think of sales as purely a numbers game. Just dial enough calls, work enough leads, and grind out enough activity, and eventually you‘ll hit your quota… right?

Not so fast. Research shows that only 3% of buyers actually trust reps who approach them out of the blue. If you come across as just another faceless salesperson going through the motions, you‘ll struggle to get anyone to engage, much less sign a contract.

Here‘s the truth: People buy from people they know, like and trust. Every touchpoint needs to reinforce that you see them as a human being, not just a commission check.

What this looks like in practice:

  • Referencing specific trigger events or noteworthy things about their business in your outreach (funding rounds, new executive hires, market expansion, etc)
  • Following up your first call with a handwritten note mentioning something personal you learned about them
  • Regularly sharing articles and insights related to their industry to add value outside of your product
  • Remembering little details about their role, goals and interests and working them into the conversation

One study found that personalized emails deliver 6X higher transaction rates than generic blasts. But personalizing takes time, which is why so many reps resort to spray-and-pray instead.

Do the work to understand your buyer as an individual. It will pay dividends in your ability to earn their trust and close the deal.

2. Insisting your product is perfect

I‘m just going to say it: your product is not a silver bullet. It‘s not the ultimate solution for every business on the market. And that‘s okay!

Early in my sales career, a prospect asked me point blank: "What happens if we outgrow your platform? How does the data export process work if we ever need to switch to a more robust tool?"

In a panic, I skirted the question and babbled on about how great our retention rates were and how they would never need to worry about that. I thought I was defending our value. In reality, I destroyed my credibility. That buyer saw right through me and went with a rep who was willing to have a more honest dialogue.

Most B2B buyers evaluate at least 4 different options in their research process. They‘re going to uncover your weaknesses, whether you proactively discuss them or not.

Here‘s a better approach:

  • Know the profile of your ideal customer fit and exactly how your product lines up with their top priorities
  • Proactively bring up areas where you lag behind the competition, and own them
  • Disqualify bad-fit prospects early – the right solution for them might exist, but it‘s not you and that‘s fine!
  • Quantify the impact and ROI of your unique value props so that the pros clearly outweigh the cons

I once lost a big opportunity because a competitor offered a feature we didn‘t have. It stung, but it also forced me to get crystal clear on what we did better than anyone else. The next time that objection came up, I was prepared with specific metrics on why our approach drove better results. We ended up winning the deal.

Don‘t claim to be all things to all people. Embrace what makes you different, and own where you‘re not the right fit. Buyers will appreciate your transparency.

3. Sloppy handoff from SDR to AE

Many sales teams divide prospecting and deal closing between two specialized roles: Sales Development Reps (SDRs) and Account Executives (AEs). When done well, this allows each side to focus on what they do best.

But time and time again, I see organizations drop the ball on the transition between initial outreach and sales proper. The SDR does a great job connecting with a lead, understanding their needs and getting them excited – only to toss them over to an AE who starts from scratch with clumsy, generic qualifying questions.

Put yourself in the buyer‘s shoes. They‘ve invested time sharing key details about their situation, and now they suddenly feel like they‘ve been passed off to a stranger who hasn‘t done their research. Not a great experience!

To make the lead handoff seamless:

  • Establish a consistent framework for what information SDRs should be gathering and documenting before making an intro
  • Schedule a live handoff where the SDR and AE can meet with the prospect together and verbally align on the game plan
  • Have the AE reference specific points from the initial conversation to demonstrate that they‘ve done their homework
  • Provide sales enablement materials like battlecards and talk tracks to get AEs up to speed on the account quickly

With the right process and tools in place, your prospect should barely perceive that they‘re talking to a different person. The transition from SDR to AE should feel like a natural continuation of the conversation, not an abrupt start-stop.

4. Lack of enthusiasm

This one seems like a no-brainer. If you‘re not excited about what you‘re selling, how can you expect a prospect to get fired up about it?

But so many reps fall into the trap of leaning too heavily on facts and figures. They focus so much on rattling off use cases and value props that they come across as rehearsed and robotic.

Don‘t get me wrong, you absolutely need to know your product cold. However, how you say things is just as important as what you‘re saying. Injecting genuine passion and enthusiasm helps you connect on an emotional level.

Tactical ways to bring more energy to your sales conversations:

  • Smile when you dial (yes, people can hear it through the phone)
  • Modulate your tone of voice – no monotone allowed!
  • Get animated with facial expressions and hand gestures if you‘re on video
  • Don‘t be afraid to nerd out or tell personal stories about what gets you pumped up about your solution
  • Laugh, make jokes, be human!

Especially in industries that aren‘t inherently sexy, a little authentic excitement goes a long way. Enthusiasm gives your prospects permission to imagine how much better their world could be with your product in it. Let your passion shine through!

5. Generic, untailored demos

If your eyes glaze over watching a rep click through their own product, imagine how the buyer on the other end feels. Nothing will make a prospect tune out faster than a long-winded, irrelevant feature dump.

I once shadowed a rep who gave the exact same pitch, slideshow and all, on every single discovery call. He didn‘t confirm if he was talking to an engineer, marketer or executive. He didn‘t ask about their goals or current tech stack. He just blazed through his spiel and then seemed genuinely shocked when they didn‘t immediately ask for a contract.

The point of a demo or presentation isn‘t to show off every bell and whistle. It‘s to help the buyer envision how your solution makes their life easier. If you haven‘t done the work to understand what that looks like, you‘ll be dead in the water.

Keys to keeping your demos interesting and valuable:

  • Start broad and tailor your flow based on the prospect‘s area of focus (IT will care about different features than Sales or Marketing)
  • Get curious about their existing process, and mirror your language to how they describe their problems
  • Call out 2-3 specific capabilities that are most relevant to their situation, even if it means skipping part of your usual script
  • Keep slides to a minimum and hop into the actual product as quickly as possible – show, don‘t tell!
  • Pause frequently to gauge reactions and leave plenty of time for questions

Even with a more technical sale, never forget that you‘re ultimately dealing with people. A few thoughtful moments connecting your product to their world will massively boost the impact of your demo.

The antidote to annoying: a deep commitment to value

Here‘s the hard truth: Buyers don‘t care about you hitting quota. They don‘t care about your personal desire to crush your competition. They only care about one thing: what‘s in it for them.

Every interaction should reinforce that you‘re genuinely invested in their success. Do your research. Ask insightful questions. Admit when you‘re not the right fit. Show some personality!

Yes, sales is always a balancing act. You have targets to hit and margins to maintain. But never let your enthusiasm for closing a deal undermine your focus on the customer.

If you‘re not sure how to thread that needle, these resources can help:

Above all, remember that trust is the bedrock of any sales relationship. If you consistently act in ways that put your customer‘s needs first, you‘ll never have to worry about being annoying. You‘ll be too busy celebrating wins together.

Similar Posts